"Keep working, dog!" A sharp voice cuts through the night air. "I ordered you to give me 200 push-ups, and you're still 2 short!!!" A drill instructor stands in the rain, a short riding crop in hand. He glares down at the young man struggling in the mud. He can't be more than 17 and is barely able to respond with a soft "...yes."
"What was that!?" The instructor roars, snapping his whip on the ground at the boys hands. "You will address me as sir!!! And you will give me my push-ups!!! Do I make myself clear!?" "Yes sir!!!" He yells as he manages to fight through the pain and complete his task, collapsing back in the mud.
"That's more like it," the instructor steps over the exhausted boy. "Maybe next time you'll remember who's in charge here and won't mouth off at a superior officer! You wanna join the army, then you'd damn well better be willing to do as your told." He turns and walks away. "Hit the showers, Private Hiraga." The boy mutters a faint, "...yes sir."
Some time later, Saito Hiraga lay back in his cot, the rain battering against the window of his barracks. The room was quiet and empty. It used to have 30 young men occupying the space. New recruits eager to join the army. However the rigorous boot camp and training had whittled the numbers drastically after a period of 3 months. His only remaining bunk mate had washed out earlier that day. When the drill instructor gave him trouble for wanting to quit, Saito tried to defend him, resulting in his time spent in the mud.
Arms still aching, Saito sprawled out on his cot. His thoughts drifted to those of home, his mother, and a warm meal. He wanted to go back, and after this last bit of pain and humiliation, he was thinking strongly about leaving for good. There were plenty of other barracks full of new recruits the barbaric drill instructor could torment. And they were full Japanese, not some half-American who everyone seemed to single out anyways.
But no, he couldn't quit now. There was too much at stake for him personally. He had something to prove, both to himself and those who looked down on him. He was going to finish boot camp, become a true soldier, and one day an officer, just like his father. With his mind made up, Saito began to mentally tally up the days until his training was finished. His stomach began growling, he had missed dinner due to the instructor's torment. Saito hoped there were some leftovers in the kitchen he could mooch off a sympathetic cook.
With his military fatigues wet and muddy, Saito decided to throw on some more comfortable clothes for his quick run over. He did however keep his knife attached to his belt and wore a necklace with a set of dog tags. Throwing on his blue and white jacket and taking a deep breath, he walked towards the door.
However, after taking only a few steps, a man-sized greenish oval suddenly appeared before him. He fell over backwards in shock. He then heard what sounded like a voice coming from it. It sounded female, and though he wasn't very good with other languages, it sounded like a mix between French and Dutch.
"My servant that exists somewhere in this vast universe, my divine, beautiful, wise, powerful servant, heed my call. I wish from very bottom of my heart that you heed my summon and appear!"
"What the-" he muttered, thinking this may possibly be a hallucination brought on by his exhaustion. He edged a bit closer, as if trying to look inside. However an unseen force took hold of his body and sucked him inside. "Wait! Let go!! Somebody help me!!!" It was to no avail of course, seeing that nobody else was around. With a final tug, the oval glowed a bright blue and fully absorbed the young Saito. He yelled as he seemed to free fall through the air, blacking out a moment later from the experience.
"Who are you, peasant?" A voice broke through the darkness as he regained consciousness. His eyes opened slowly, gazing upon the young woman standing above him. She was short in stature, had bright pink hair, and wore an expression of disgust and disappointment. He couldn't understand her voice, but he recognized it as the one from the portal. "Huh? What's going on? Where am I?"
He slowly sat up, a few seconds passed before someone started to chuckle, and it quickly spread until everyone in the crowd was laughing. "Look at that! The Zero summoned a commoner!" A tall girl with tanned skin pointed and laughed as she sat with a strange lizard who had combusted smoke. "Look at those clothes! So weird!" This time, it was a blond haired boy, his laugh pompous despite awkwardly squatting next to a large mole. "Is that a weapon he's wearing?" Another blond, a girl this time spoke up, pointing to the knife at his hip.
Saito rubbed the back of his head. Where the heck am I? He thought to himself. Why is everyone wearing capes? Is this some kind of cult? Looking over, he watched as the pink haired girl argued with a balding man in robes. "Mr. Colbert, can I try again, please?" she asked. The bald instructor shook his head apologetically, tapping the ground a couple times with the large staff he held in hand. "I'm sorry, but the Summoning Ritual is sacred, you can only perform it once." The two went back and forth for a bit before she growled and squatted in front of Saito. He sat up to look around better before blinking, shifting to lean back away from her.
She stared at him. "You should be thankful for this, normally someone of noble birth never does something like this for a peasant boy!" She raises what looked to be a wand and made another chant in the language Saito didn't understand. She went quiet, and after hesitating leaned in forward. Saito leaned back, not altogether comprehending the situation as the girl leaned further and kissed him lightly on the lips. Almost instinctively, he jolted backwards. Saito had never kissed a girl before, and suddenly it had just happened with a complete stranger!
The girl didn't seem offended at his rapid retreat, simply staring at him, having not even blinked during the whole process. After a moment, Saito's hand started to glow. He shouted in pain, his right hand moving to grip his left wrist as pain shot through his body, centered on that joint.
It was as if his entire left arm was on fire, his nerves all lighting up at once as a set of runes carved themselves into the top of his left hand. Saito could deal with physical pain, but this was something different altogether. It thankfully ended and he fell over forwards, passing out.
Saito woke up some time later. What a crazy dream, he thought. I must still be in the barracks. Wonder if I passed out. He sits up, realizing his surroundings were very different. He appeared to be in a fancy bedroom and underneath was a small pile of straw. "So, you finally decided to wake up." Saito turns to the voice, seeing the same pink haired girl from before, recoiling in surprise. "It wasn't a dream!"
She starts speaking again. "I've thought about it long enough to get an ulcer, but I've given up. I'm going to have you as my familiar. You should be honored." Saito quickly stands up. "Where the hell have you taken me!? I wanna go back now! If I don't get back I'll-" He's cut off by the sight of the girl taking off her clothes to an underdress. He's momentarily caught off guard and starts blushing. "Hey, what're you doing!?" She throws her clothes in his face. "Wash and iron those. Even if you don't understand the language, you're my familiar and you ought to understand that."
Saito did indeed understand the intention this time, having been forced to do laundry for higher ranking officers on more than one occasion. This just made him angry however and he threw the clothes to the ground. "What are you trying to pull? If this is some kind of kinky game, I'm not playing!" "Ugh, shut up! I can't hear myself think!" Shes suddenly struck by an idea. Taking out her wand, she says a brief chant before pointing it at the boy.
A small explosion knocks him backwards onto the straw. He's covered in soot and groans as he gets back up, angry. "Damn, that hurt! What the hell did you do that for!?" The girl looks surprised. "When you spoke, I understood!" It's Saito's turn to be surprised. "Wait, did you just say you understood me?" She nods. "Try saying something else." "What, you can speak Japanese now?" "Japa-nese? I can't believe it, that was supposed to be a spell of silence," she groans. "Failed again... You, what's your name?"
"Oh, I'm Private Saito Hiraga, of Camp Takigahara." "Hiraga Saito? Why do you call yourself 'Private'?" She asks. "It's a ranking, I'm in training at a Military Base. Now I have a right to know, who are you and why did you take me?"
"You're here because I summoned you, of course," she says matter of factly. "I used magic and the summoning ritual brought you here. You're my familiar." "Your what?" In response, the girl points at the symbols on his left hand, ᚷᚢᚾᛞᛟᛚᚠ "See those runes? They signify your status as a Familiar. Now then, my name is Louise, Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière." She spoke with an air of self importance. "Where we are is the Tristain Academy of Magic. I'm a second year student here."
"I've never heard of a magic school before, at least not a real one," said Saito. "I do know what a familiar is from reading manga and watching movies. They're what mages tote around to help with their magic, right? But why pick me? I thought they were supposed to be like talking cats or something?" "I will not be spoken to by a familiar so informally," Louise retorted, getting agitated. "Normally a summoning ritual brings forth an animal as a familiar, I have no idea why you, a Peasant boy, was brought here instead! I wanted a dragon, or a griffin, or something cool!"
"Hey, I'm not exactly thrilled about this either," says Saito. "I've gotta get back to the base right now or I'll be in big trouble! Look, just point me in the right direction and I'll gladly get out of your hair. Maybe you can try that summoning thing again later?" "I can't," said Louise. "Once summoned, a familiar and its master are bonded for life, only separated once one of them dies." "Run that by me again!?" Saito asks incredulously.
"Whatever life you had before is over. As of this moment, I am your master," she finishes. "Like hell you are!" Saito retorts, rushing past her out the door. "What th- hey! Get back here this instant!!" No way! Saito thinks to himself as he runs down the staircase. Fortunately thanks to his training, his physical condition was excellent and he had no trouble getting away quickly. As Saito was about to round a corner, he heard voices. Deciding to play it casual, he walked around to see 2 students chatting. One was the blond haired boy from earlier, the other was someone he hadn't seen before.
"Yes, of course I do, Katie," the boy says. "Don't you know by now that I would never lie to you?" "Oh, Lord Guiche!" The girl responds. He continues, "There is absolutely nothing hidden behind my feelings for you." Saito nearly threw up in his mouth at that last bit. Jeez, laying it on a bit thick, aren't you?
Guiche notices Saito walking past. "Hey, it's that Peasant boy Louise summoned." "You mean the one from today's ritual? It caused quite a stir among the first year students too," said Katie. Saito tried to ignore them and keep moving, but Guiche spoke up in a way that was meant for him to hear. "He suddenly fainted and stopped moving, so we all found ourselves caught in an unfortunate bind. Hold on!" He called over to Saito.
Damn, I was nearly gone. "Uh, yes?" He asked. "A Peasant in troubling the hands of Nobility, and not even a word of thanks." "Oh, is that right?" Saito gave a quick bow. "Well thanks then, see you around the castle!" Jerk, he thought to himself as he hurried back towards the main hallway. He could still he the sound of the pretentious boy's voice.
"He's quite the restless fellow... Oh Louise, your familiar just passed by!" Saito cringed at the sound of Louise's name. Crap, she's catching up! He rushed past a fountain where he saw another face from before, the tanned redhead flirting with a boy. Not bothering to slow down this time, Saito leapt out the door and made a mad dash towards the front gate.
Magic, familiars, peasants and nobles? What sort of crazy cult did I get mixed up with? I've gotta get out of here!!! He made a good distance before suddenly being lifted up into the air by an unseen force, pulling him back towards the castle. "W-what the hell is this!? Someone get me down! If I fall, I'll die!!"
"Just give yourself up!" A voice called. Saito turned to see Guiche. The boy was pointing a ride at him in place of a wand and was using it to bring Saito towards him. Standing next to him was an angry Louise. "This is the second time I've had to keep you afloat!" He laughs as he twirls the rose, making Saito fly around in different directions.
"Damn, this really is magic!! Put me down right now!!" He yells out. "I don't think you're in a position to make demands, Peasant," Guiche says somewhat smugly. He's joined by the redhead and her companion. She laughs at the predicament. "You summoned a familiar that escapes from his master? That is too funny!"
"Alright, that's it!" Saito grabbed the knife on his hip. "I said, put me down!!!" He threw it to the ground at Guiche's feet, landing blade first just in front of his shoes. The boy gave a shout of surprise as he fell over backwards. His concentration now broken, the spell was released and Saito landed feet first on the ground. The others look on in amazement.
"I... I can't believe he just did that to a Noble!!" Guiche says in complete shock. "Ooh, looks like your familiar has a bit of fight in him," says the redhead. "I wonder what else he can do?" She smiles mischievously. "Shut up, Kirche!" She turns angrily towards Saito to scold him, only to see that he'd passed out once more. She attempts to shake him awake but he's out cold. Not once did anyone notice the glowing runes on Saito's left hand.